1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mixing apparatus, and more particularly, a portable baby bottle blender. The portable baby bottle blender is a battery-operated device that can be utilized to easily and thoroughly mix powdered formula in a baby bottle. The present invention can assist individuals in creating a baby bottle for a child even when a standard blender may not be available. The portable baby bottle blender is ideal for use when traveling or at home to fix an infant a baby bottle of formula with the solution being thoroughly blended with little effort.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When mixing powdered formula in a baby bottle, one may have to shake it in order for the solution to thoroughly mix. This can be aggravating, especially when done half-asleep in the middle of the night. Manually shaking may also not completely dissolve chunks of formula within the baby bottle. Using a standard blender may be time consuming and may require one to be near an electrical outlet for use, which may not always be possible. Routinely cleaning an entire blender may also be annoying.
Numerous innovations for stirring devices have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.
A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,684, Issued on Dec. 5, 1972, to Lee teaches mixing devices, such as food mixers. One embodiment includes a mixer unit which may be removably, sealingly affixed to the top of a receptacle containing the material to be mixed and the combination thereafter inverted during the mixing operation. Thereby a short-shafted universal mixer device may be used with a wide variety of receptacles.
A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,161, Issued on Jun. 17, 1997, to Sirianni teaches a blender cup apparatus comprising a rigid hollow base having a top wall, a bottom wall, a peripheral side wall; a open cup coupled to the top wall of the base; a lid removably secured over the cup; a battery removably disposed within the base for supplying electrical energy; a motor having a fixed stator coupled to the battery and base and a rotatable rotor extended upwards through the top wall and into the cup with the stator imparting rotational motion to the rotor; a propeller coupled to the rotor of the motor within the cup; a power switch extended from the base and coupled to the battery; and a pressure switch extended from the base and coupled between the motor and power switch, the power switch having an enabled orientation for allowing delivery of electrical energy to the pressure switch and a disabled orientation for preventing such delivery, the pressure switch having a depressed orientation for allowing electrical energy to be delivered to the motor and further having a released orientation for preventing such delivery.
A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,504, Issued on Jun. 15, 1999, to Schindlegger Jr. teaches a stirring device for a container, such as a baby bottle, the stirring device exhibiting a recess which closes off the container opening when the container is inverted. The recess is fitted with an inner wall section with an inside thread for screwing in the container. A drive shaft of a stirrer extends through the bottom of the recess. The housing consists of an outer wall section, the inner wall section with the bottom and a ring section which connects the outer wall section with the inner wall section. The housing is closed off with a bottom plate. The batteries that supply electrical power to the stirrer motor are placed vertically between the outer wall section and the inner wall section.
A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,627, Issued on Sep. 4, 2001, to Fromm teaches a drink mixer which may be used by children as well as by adults to mix a liquid with a wide variety of ingredients including air, other liquids, or solids, which may be comminuted during mixing. The device consists of four major components or assemblies, these being a tapered cylindrical container, a container top assembly, a handle assembly, and a mixing disk carried by the handle assembly. The parts are so designed so that the mixing disk may be pushed down repeatedly by the handle assembly to mix the liquid within the container with other ingredients, an internal spring returning the mixing disk to its raised position. The container top assembly is secured to the container in a liquid tight manner, the container top assembly having a pour spout which may be covered tightly. A part which changes color when the contents change temperature may be incorporated into the mixer.
A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2005/0105387, Published on May 19, 2005, to Nikkhah teaches a sports bottle blender for use with a mixing apparatus to blend mixed drinks. The sports bottle has a top with a closable opening therein such as a spout. A blade assembly is positioned at the bottom of the sports bottle extending into the sports bottle cavity. When the sports bottle is positioned on a mixing apparatus, such as a blender, the blade assembly operatively engages the blender such that operation of the blender causes the blade assembly to rotate. The rotation of the blade assembly mixes the ingredients in the sports bottle. The lower portion of the sports bottle is preferably detachable from the upper portion to provide easy access to the blade assembly for cleaning.
A SIXTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,640, Issued on Jun. 27, 2006, to Sands teaches a blender system including a mixing base is capable of agitating the contents of a plurality of containers. The mixing base includes a rotating shaft, a recessed well, a pressure-actuated switch positioned about the periphery of the recessed well, and a locking groove. One container that may be used with the mixing base has an opening at one end and a base at a second end, where the base is tapered. The container also includes one or more locking members in spaced relation about the periphery of the container body. The container body may be provided with a handle. The container also includes a ring that is selectively attachable and removable from the periphery of the opening such that when the ring is coupled to the container, the user is able to drink from the container without spilling or dripping.
A SEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 7,281,842, Issued on Oct. 16, 2007, to Dickson Jr. teaches a blending container which may include one or more walls and a handle secured to the one or more walls. The blending container may have a generally rectangular shape. The blending container may also include a mixing blade that rotates on an axis. The blending container may be configured so that a vortex created when liquid is blended inside the container is not positioned over the axis. The blending containers may also be configured to stack inside one another.
AN EIGHTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2008/0037360, Published on Feb. 14, 2008, to McGill teaches a method of preparing a blended food product includes the steps of: introducing a composition of food product(s) into a container, providing a closure for the container, the closure carrying an impeller; inverting the container so that the closure with its blending element lies lowermost; and driving the blending element to blend the composition to form a blended food product. Prior to blending, the container is mounted in a holder and clamped in place between the closure and the holder, to prevent leakage during blending. The holder may be in the form of a sleeve. A drive master is also provided for use with two sets of blending lids.
A NINTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2008/0047439, Published on Feb. 28, 2008, to Tracy et al. teaches a method and apparatus for steaming and blending food products such as baby food. The apparatus includes a base including a steam chamber and a drive shaft. A container assembly can be mounted to the base in an inverted position for steaming the food and in an upright position for blending the food. The apparatus may further include a baby bottle sterilizing unit and a bottle warmer.
A TENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 7,430,957, Issued on Oct. 7, 2008, to Sands teaches a blender and juicer system that comprises a blender container having an open top and an open bottom, and a removable juicer member being open at each end and adapted for insertion into the blender container. The blender container is adapted to prevent the over-insertion of the removable juicer member. The inserted juicer member is adapted to engage operatively the interior of the blender container. The blender and juicer system also comprises a plunger adapted for insertion into the juicer member. The inserted plunger is utilized during a juice extraction operation. The plunger includes a top exterior lip which defines the optimal range of plunger insertion into the juicer member.
AN ELEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2008/0259722, Published on Oct. 23, 2008, to Sanford teaches a blender for production of scented materials has mutually connecting containers or chambers that attach to a conventional motorized blender base. The chambers include a mixing chamber having a removable blade assembly and base attachment mount, a filtration chamber installed upon the mixing chamber, and a collection chamber installed upon the filtration chamber. The filtration chamber may include one or more scent absorbent pads removably installed in the neck thereof. The blender is used by assembling the mixing chamber upon the blender base, adding ingredients and liquid, installing the filtration and collection chambers, and operating the blender. When the ingredients have been mixed and comminuted, the chamber assembly is removed from the base and inverted to drain the liquid mixture through the scent absorbent discs and into the collection bottle. The discs and collection bottle are then removed for use in distributing the scent.
A TWELFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2008/0304356, Published on Dec. 11, 2008, to Zhuang teaches a shaker which is driven by a motor through a swing mechanism so as to swing a wine bottle, for example, drink within the bottle such as wine. The shaker comprises a base, a container, and a bottle seat disposed at a bottom in the container for receiving a bottle body, characterized in that the drink shaker further comprises a swing mechanism disposed in the base and driven by the motor through a conversion mechanism, and the swing mechanism is capable of driving the bottle seat to swing rightward and leftward in a plane or in different planes. The wine is wobbled by the swinging so that the wine continuously rises to a surface of the wine alternatively to be sufficiently and fully oxidized with air. Ice water or warm water can be provided to the shaker as a heat exchange medium. The water is stirred by the swinging of the wine bottle to be uniform in temperature, thereby speeding up cooling or warming of the wine. The shaker has effects of quick breathing, cooling, and warming of wine. The shaker has moving portions, which can excite appetite for drinking. In addition, the power required to swing the drink in the bottle can be reduced to save energy consumption.
It is apparent now that numerous innovations for stirring devices have been provided in the prior art that are adequate for various purposes. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, accordingly, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.